Remote-control device for railroad cars



. 1,629,286 J. MCCALLUM Filed July l5, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 willdfllrllkilllhHUHUAIIWWIM+|II mmm www! l. l. E o 1 REMOTE CONTROL DEVICE FOR RAILROAD CARS May 17. 1927.

May 17, 1927. 1,629,286

J. MCCALLUM REMOTE CONTROL DEVICE FOR RAILROAD CARS Filed July 15, 1925 y2. .Sheets-Sheet 2 MH? l Patented May 17, 1927. ,p

, star Jenn niccnLni-vi; or waLnninengorirl Reitern-confusion enven :son` Berlinerin cans.

vApplicat'i'cm filed July 15,

My invention has for its object to provide a remote control means for controlling the speed ofl one or more rail cars, such as, railroad freight cars. The invention is particularly of advantage whenused-in freight yards for switching purposes, particularly, for regulating the distances that the cars may run free after they have been impelled to move by any force. The car may receive its momentum from the railroad engine or from an inclined track or from any other force translating means. l

To illustrate a practical application of the invention, I have selected a structure co'ntaii'iing` the invention and shall describe it hereinafter. shown in the accompanying drawings.

Figure l of the drawings illustrates a top view showing one end of the control device. Fig. 2 illustrates a view of a section taken on the line 2-2 indicated in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing a plurality of spaced controlling means for regulating the speed of a car as it moves along a track of considerable length.' Fig. 4 is a top view showing the construction of the ends of the device. Fig. 5 is a View of a section taken on the line -'iudicated in Fig. 4. i'

Uf the remote controlling device embodying my invention, the one shown inthe drawings has a plurality of pairs of bars l that extend along the rails 2 of the tracks over which the cars run and lmeans is provided f'or raising the bars so that they will engage the wheels 3 of the cars. They, pref-V erably, engage the flanges 4 that move faster than the surfaces of the wheel that roll on the top of the rails 2 and thus the bars operate as brakes on the wheels. The bars are preferably so formed as to bewedge shaped in their cross section, and wedging edges being disposed along the sides of the tops of the rails and so as to enter between the flanges and the rails. The bars are'thus located between the parallel rails and are preferably raised to make contact with the Wheels. They are located on wedges 5 Athat engage inclined surfaces 6 formed on the part-s of the bars l. The bars have abutment lugs 7 that engage the webs of the rails 2 so that when the wedges 5 are pushed under the bars l, the bars will not tilt or becrowded under the tops of the rails. The bars l are held in place between brackets 8 The structure selected is serial n. liasse:

are supported on theguard rail 9. The guard rails 9 substantially enclose the bars l between the guard rails 9 and the T-rails 2. The brackets 8 may be formed of straps of' metal that are bent at their ends and bolted to the guard rail 9. The ba rs l are held from endwise movement by means of the blocks 10 that maybe formed integral with the brackets 11 that are secured to the rails and are located at the ends ot the guard rails 9 and the bars 6 and in line with the bars.

The wedges 5 extend through openings 12 formed in the guard rail 9. They slideupon the bottom flanges 13 of the guard rails. rillhey may be actuated by leverssuch as the levers 14 which are connected through the that links l5 and the bell crank levers 16 to the wedges 5 to raise and lower the bars l as may be desired to frictionallyl engage with Vmore or less' pressure, the wheels '8. Thus when a car. is moving along the bars 'its speed may be reduced to any desired rate. The amount of reduction of the speed of the car will ordinarily depend onA the distance that it is desired to allow the car to` run free. Also if desired the car may be *stopped on 'the' bars l. lThis will depend upon the frictional` engagement between the bars l and the flanges of 'the wheels Vof the car. As shown in Fig. 3 a'plurality of pairs of bars l may be used for regulating the speed of the car. The plurality of pairs of bars may be 'used on the single track or may be usedl on branching tracks to controlthe speed of the car.

I claim:

l. In a remote speed control for rail cars,

a wedge bar located along the rail and having a. wedging edge for engaging the flanges of the wheels of the cars, and means for operating the wedge bar to engage the flanges of the wheels.

2. In a remote speed control for rail cars,

a wedge bar located along the rail and havy wedge bars to cause its wedgng edge to engage between the flanges olf the wheels and the rails.

4. ln a remote speed control for rail oars, a pair of wedge bars located along the E rails andphaving wedging edges for engaging between the flanges' of the wheels and the rails, a plurality of Wedges slidably located beneath the wedge bars foi' raising the wedge'bars and means 'for operating the Wedges.

In testimony whereof- I have hereunto 20 signed my naine to this speeilication.

JOHN MCCALLUM. 

